Paul Hale (Alverna Gunn)

From Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, comes Alverna Gunn, formed around 1975. They recorded two demo tapes (1980 and 1982), in addition to the recently released compilation 1980-1982 Recordings. We talked to drummer Paul Hale about this underrated band.

Q. - Hello Paul, tell us a bit about the origins of Alverna Gunn. How did it all start? Who were the first members of the band?

Paul - The band first formed by myself, Phil Quantrill on guitar and Ashley Morse on bass and vocals. This was in 1974/5 I believe. We played covers like Caroline, by Quo and several Budgie songs such as Breadfan and Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk. The band split when Ashley joined a punk band called The Crabs. A couple of months later, I joined them too but it only lasted about 6 months before we broke up. Almost immediately after, I joined up with Phil again, along with Mark Holmes on guitar Steve Gamble on bass and shortly after Keith Thacker joined us on vocals. We once again decided to use the name Alverna Gunn and began writing our own material. Phil decided it was not for him and left, leaving the AG lineup that went on to record all the demos whilst playing gigs as support to bands such as Samson (with Bruce Dickinson on vocal), Hawkwind and our biggest influence, Budgie.

Q. - How did the band name come about?

Paul - The name was suggested by Ashley Morse and I believe it was the name given to a show winning dog but I can’t verify that.

Q. - Who were your main influences at that time?

Paul - As I mentioned Budgie were a huge influence but other influences were bands like Zeppelin, Scorpions, Rainbow and AC/DC.

Q. - Did you play in any other bands before Alverna Gunn?

Paul - Apart from the first Alverna Gunn, I did spend around 6 months touring around the UK with The Crabs.

Q. - What can you tell us about the two demo tapes recorded in the 1980s, knowing there’s not much information available about it?

Paul - The Demos were recorded at Elephant Studios in Wapping, London as there were not many reasonable quality studios where we lived in East Anglia. East or West and Mad Dog were recorded and mixed in a day in 1980. The rest of the tracks we recorded over 2 weekends in 1982. We sent tapes off the various record labels but got no real interest. However, on the back of the 1980 recordings we did get the opportunity to play several gigs with The Radio Caroline Roadshow in front of large audiences.

Q. - Did you sell those tapes at shows, or send them to fanzines?

Paul - We did have a very good review in Kerrang for the demo but didn’t produce the tapes in quantities to sell.

Q. - How was the Suffolk metal scene back then?

Paul - In Lowestoft there was an excellent venue on The South Pier and every Friday was NWOBHM night. Bands such as Praying Mantis, Vardis and Samson played there as well as many others. We also played quite regularly at West Runton Pavilion which was an established venue on the rock touring circuit.

Q. - Did you play regularly there, or even across the rest of the UK?

Paul - We played mostly across the East of England.

Q. - Did you open for other bands, or were you headlining shows?

Paul - We did headline our own shows as we had built quite a strong following in the East but were always chasing supports with named bands.

Q. - Did you try to approach a record deal at that time to record an Lp?

Paul - We did but really needed someone to manage the band as we didn’t really know how to go about getting a deal.

Q. - Did it get any airplay on radio stations?

Paul - Unfortunately, back then, there wasn’t all the independent stations there are today and again, without management we probably missed opportunities to get airplay.

 

Q. - In your opinion, what do you think kept Alverna Gunn from having a more successful career?

Paul - I think it was a combination of not being in London or a big city and our own naivety.

Q. - Have you stayed in touch with the other former members over the years?

Paul -We are all still good friends and although we have lost touch a few times over the years, we are now in regular contact and get together for a beer often.

Q. - What other musical projects did you work on after the end of Alverna Gunn?

Paul - After Alverna Gunn Mark and I joined a band called The Buster James Band and are still playing together today. It’s coming to an end but it’s been an enjoyable 42 years. Mark and I took a few years out from Buster James to form an AOR band called The Bash Street Kids. The vocalist, Richard Taylor is now with Steve Harris’ British Lion along with Simon Dawson.

Over the past few years Mark and I teamed up with an old friend to form The Coronation Kings and more recently The Tin Foil Aliens as a side project writing and recording.

Q. - Now, more than 40 years later, with all the Alverna Gunn songs compiled on 1980-1982 Recordings, what do you think about it?

Paul - The thing I value the most is the enduring friendships I have because of making music.  The interest you have shown in what we did has brought us back together as good friends and we are all extremely grateful for that Paulo.

Q. - How did you view the whole NWOBHM movement back then, and how do you see the current interest in those bands and recordings today?

Paul - It was an exciting time and making music was all we wanted to do. We were so lucky to have the opportunity to see and sometimes share a stage with so many great bands.

Q. - In your opinion, what are the main differences between the 1980s and the music scene today?

Paul - To be totally honest, there is no comparison. It was all raw energy, plenty of venues to play totally genuine. No studio tricks, just real people playing real instruments. That couldn’t be further away from a lot of the “music” produced today.

Q. - Is there anything else you’d like to say to wrap up this interview?

Paul - Just to thank you again for taking such an interest in Alverna Gunn.

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best.